Memories of a bright start to the season have dimmed among Scarlets’ passionate supporters with flak flying in the direction of coach Simon Easterby, who took over as head honcho from Gloucester recruit Nigel Davies last season.

And they face one of the most daunting assignments in European rugby on Saturday when they take on fully tooled-up champions Leinster in Dublin in a fixture the Heineken holders must win to remain in contention for a quarter-final place.

Wales international back-row forward McCusker, in a typically honest and candid interview, didn’t pull any punches as he addressed the startling demise of the Scarlets following their Belfast battering.

“We came in on Monday after a loss, highlighting things on the video that have shown people not in certain places because they did not know their roles,” disclosed the North Walian.

“It’s just unforgivable really. Knock-ons and dropping the ball you can’t really say anything about, but people out of position because they haven’t done enough work in the week ... we are not taking that.”

And McCusker speculated: “Perhaps we have been too slack on that the last couple of months.

“The coaching staff have tried not to be all doom and gloom, but we can’t shy away from it. We need to know where we are going wrong so we can learn from it.

“We have kind of identified we have not been tough enough on each other on errors that are costing us in games.

“It’s stuff we can clear up in the week and we have got no excuse for not doing so really.

“We have put a big emphasis on being more tough on each other and bringing the best out of each other.”

McCusker was appointed skipper by former Ireland captain Easterby for this season and asked to convert to No. 8 from flanker.

He admitted it was a learning process when it comes to issuing orders.

“Not one hat fits all. People definitely respond in different ways. That’s one of the things I have had to pick up,” went on McCusker.

“Maybe I have been as guilty as anyone of being too easy on the boys, but you don’t want to get a point where you are shouting for the sake of it.

“We have highlighted we need to be more disciplined with the boys and making sure they are on task.

“Fortunately, I have known a lot of the boys for a long time, on and off the field, and seen how they react to things and been able to form a judgement on how best to deal with them.”

Next page: Injury

The 27-year-old missed the back-to-back clashes with Exeter after being sidelined by an ankle injury picked up during Wales’ November defeat to Argentina at the Millennium Stadium.

He was sent off against the Ospreys for foul play, but wasn’t suspended by a Pro12 disciplinary panel.

“I wasn’t entirely sure what was going to happen. I was pretty confident they would see it the way I saw it. My motive was to get the ball back and not injure anyone,” explained McCusker.

“Luckily they saw it like that and I was free to play. I thought two weeks (suspension) maybe. Garan Evans (Scarlets team manager) didn’t hold out much hope, but I was the most optimistic out of everyone and confident I would get through.”

McCusker acknowledged he has learnt about the character of the Scarlets squad during the recent tough times.

And, looking ahead to the Pool Five match-up at the RDS with a star-studded Leinster team that will be flat-out for a bonus-point victory, the five-times capped forward predicted: “None more so than on Saturday. We will see.

“If we can cut out the errors, we will be a lot better team than what we are displaying at the moment.

“Nothing has really changed. We haven’t changed too many things or brought new stuff in. We are doing exactly the same as we were at the start of the season.

“Now we’re working harder on it. There’s no reason why we can’t get up to where we have been.

“We’re fully aware of what Leinster need out of it and we are confident we can spoil their ambitions of getting any further.

“They may be a bit more confident after what they have seen of us over the last couple of weeks, but, if we can iron out all these little errors, we will be a lot closer to where we need to be.”

French powerhouses Clermont Auvergne, who host Exeter this weekend, are top of the group with 18 points, eight clear of Leinster, whose only route to the last eight would appear to be as one of the two best runners-up from the pool stage to progress.

“We knew it was going to be a tough group after their semi-final (Leinster and Clermont) last year,” said McCusker.

Brian O’Driscoll’s Leinster’s team is packed with Ireland and Lions candidates, including its back-row members Jamie Heaslip and Sean O’Brien.

“It would be a great challenge even if it wasn’t Lions year,” pointed out McCusker.

“They have got some great players, people we will have to get to grips with early on Saturday.

“We will be highlighting a particular focus from certain individuals, but we also know, if we take our eye off the rest of them, we could be hurt.

“Across the board Leinster have got players who can do that to you.”

Heaslip and centre great O’Driscoll are leading candidates for the captaincy of the Lions in Australia next summer and McCusker is looking forward to squaring up to the former.

“Being newish to the No. 8 role, Jamie is somebody I have looked at for a bit of inspiration and guidance,” he said.

“He’s a seasoned international, one of the senior members of that Leinster team and Ireland squad. He’s a great player.”

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